


Sacred

by Daniscats, Joking611



Series: The Incredible Story of Captain Shepard and the Love that Saved the Galaxy! Drabbles and Misc [13]
Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-17
Updated: 2018-12-17
Packaged: 2019-09-20 20:02:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17029095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daniscats/pseuds/Daniscats, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joking611/pseuds/Joking611
Summary: During the Reaper War, many unexpected things happened. Some of them were less serious than others.





	Sacred

      Shepard stepped out of the elevator and into the cargo hold, pausing mid-step as her eyes swept the bay. Something was wrong.  

      She took a few steps towards the requisition's computer, and it took her a moment to process that Cortez was hiding behind his console. Next, she registered that Wrex and Garrus were running at her from the far end of the hold. Finally, she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye.  

      "Duck!", Garrus yelled while gesturing to her right.  

      Shepard’s battle sharpened reflexes kicked in and she hit the deck as fast as the ship’s artificial gravity would pull her there. Just as she was flush with the metal plating, she heard a whoosing sound pass over her head. It was matched by a dark shape swooping up from her position and towards the bulkhead of the large storage area. She rose to her knees just as Garrus reached her, with the lumbering Wrex close behind.   

      "What the fuck was that?" Shepard asked. "And what the fuck is it doing in my cargo hold?"  

      "Just get in cover!", Garrus exclaimed as he tried to pull Shepard behind the weapons console while furiously scanning the space above them.  

      "It's a Karlak", Wrex responded, not even trying to duck behind the available cover. "It's a bird. Must have stowed away on the last shuttle from Tuchanka."  

      "It's just a bird?" Shepard asked incredulously as she shook off Garrus’ grip, standing to her full height. "Why are we hiding from a bird?"  

      "Didn’t you hear what Wrex just said? It's from Tuchanka." Garrus peeked over the console, trying to look in every direction at once. "It's dangerous!"  

      "How dangerous can it be? It’s a bird." Shepard crossed her arms. "It didn't even look that big."  

      "He’s just a bird", Wrex gestured towards Garrus, "and he's dangerous. A little bit. Sometimes."  

      "Very funny, Wrex", Garrus said as Wrex laughed. "This predicament we find ourselves in is all your fault to begin with."  

      "Instead of arguing, can we find a solution?" Cortez interjected. "Not for nothing but I think this definitely qualifies as an unsafe working environment. I'd rather be dodging reapers in my shuttle!"  

      "Okay. I don't want to be insensitive and I am all for animal rights, but we have the weapons lockers right there!" Shepard looked at Garrus. "If this bird is so dangerous, is there a reason why Mr. Sniper can't just shoot the thing? Don't tell me you can't hit a moving target."  

      "I'm not even going to dignify that with a response." Garrus stopped his scanning to look at Wrex for a moment. "Would you like to tell Shepard why we can't just shoot the damned thing?"  

      "It's a sacred bird, Shepard." Wrex answered solemnly. "You can't just kill it or you'll upset the gods or something."  

      "And you actually..."  

      "Duck!" Garrus yelled again as the bird came screaming down towards Shepard's head, interrupting her next question.  

      Shepard just managed to hit the floor again before the bird with its impossibly sharp claws, razor-sharp beak, and knifelike teeth reached her face. She was quick enough to avoid most of the attack but yelped as she felt the pain on her scalp. She put her hand to the wound and then pulled it in front of her face to see blood. She scurried back to the console and knelt behind it, the threat a little more real. Wrex continued to scan the air but made no move to find cover, which just pissed Shepard off more.  

      "Why did the damn thing attack me again when you're just standing there? And did that thing have teeth? How can you really believe that that thing is sacred?" 

      "You're smaller and of course it has teeth. Birds on Earth don't have teeth? How do they eat?" Wrex shrugged casually. "And I don't know if I really believe it's sacred but considering that we’re going up against the reapers and need all the luck that we can get, do you really want to risk pissing off a god right now?" 

      "Fine!" Shepard sighed as she continued holding her fingers to the top of her head, trying to stop the bleeding. "Then, what's the plan?"  

      Garrus and Wrex looked at each other.  

      "Well...", Garrus drawled, "we were just trying to figure that out when you got here."  

      "That's it. I'm on lunch." Cortez announced as he sprinted towards the elevator. "That thing better not hurt my shuttle!"  

      "There's got to be a way to capture it", Wrex said thoughtfully.   

      Shepard sighed again. "Wrex. You're a biotic! Is there some reason you can't just put it in a status or hit it with a singularity or something??"    

      "Do I look like an asari to you, Shepard? My biotics are all about power. If I even tried to put it in a stasis or that floaty thing that Liara does, I'd crush it. And then not only do I have to worry about the gods but Bakara too. She's a shaman. She believes all that crap. She'd have my hide!"   

      "That's our plan then." Shepard stood up cautiously, crouch-walked over to one of the terminals and hit a button. "Liara. We have a bit of an emergency here. Could you come down to the cargo hold?"  

      "An emergency?!" Liara responded. "In the cargo hold? Should I alert Joker?"  

      "I don't think that's necessary. Just get down here.” Shepard hit the button again and spoke into the air. “But Edi? Do you have any suggestions?"  

      "Stay down?" Edi's voice deadpanned. "I could bring my body to the cargo hold as well but I'm afraid that even with my heightened reflexes, I don't think I'd be able to capture your bird friend.  Not alive anyway."   

      "That's very helpful, Edi." Shepard said sarcastically. "Thank you."  

      "You are welcome, Shepard. Liara should be at your location momentarily." 

      A few moments later, Liara raced out of the elevator, her hand already encased in blue. She slowed slightly and then picked up speed again as she saw Shepard and Garrus both motioning for her to join them in cover.  

       "What is it?" Liara whispered once she slipped in between them. "Do we have an intruder on...Shepard! You're bleeding!"  

       "Don't worry about it. I'm fine. We do have an intruder on board. It's a bird. We need you to capture it in a singularity."  

      "A... bird?" Liara looked at Shepard, her face twisted in confusion.  

      "Yup. It's a bird. A big, mean, dangerous one. Just wait. You'll see. Be ready!"  

      Shepard, Liara, Garrus and Wrex scanned the space above them expectantly and waited. And waited. And then waited some more until Liara stopped looking above her and looked at Shepard instead.  

      "Are you sure you saw a bird, Shepard?"  

      "We all did! It hurt me!" Shepard brought her bloody hand up. "See!"  

      "It likes you, Shepard", Wrex said. "Maybe we need you to be our bait so that Blue can do her thing?"  

      "Why me? You're just standing there! Why isn't it attacking you?"  

      Again, Wrex shrugged. "Maybe it got a taste for human? Krogan just doesn't seem like good eating anymore?"  

      "This thing  ** _eats_**  krogan?!" Shepard asked, her voice raised.  

      "Mostly small ones. And it prefers to eat things that are already dead but it has been known to take a few bites here and there. If it makes you feel any better, I've never heard of it actually killing a krogan."  

      "Wrex! I'm not a krogan! I don't have plates. I'm a squishy human, remember?"  

      "That's probably why it likes you so much. Easier on the beak and teeth."  

      "I think I might want to go put on my armor", Shepard said as she turned towards the elevator and made a move to stand before Liara caught her arm.  

      "Shepard, please. Let's just get this done. I have actual work to do. Go stand in the middle of the deck and I'll capture whatever this is if it gets anywhere near you. I promise."  

      "Okay." Shepard looked at Liara solemnly. "I trust you, Liara."  

      Shepard took a deep breath before she stood and started walking calmly toward the middle of the open deck, her eyes never leaving the space above her, her head on a swivel. Until her foot hit a hole in the deck covered by a slippery substance. She just barely brought her other leg in front of her in time to avoid face-planting as her first leg slipped out from under her.   

      It was then that she saw the shadow rapidly diving towards her. She dropped to the deck and covered her head with her hands. Liara stood and followed the shadow with her eyes and her outstretched arm, the blue energy coalescing around her hand. She brought her arm back slightly and then flicked it forward, the blue bolt leaving her hand and racing towards the diving creature. The bolt of energy got closer to the creature and was just about to impact when it swerved up and towards Liara. Liara dropped back down behind her cover as the bird closed in on her, her singularity harmlessly blinking out of existence a short distance from Shepard.  

      "Dammit!" Liara yelled. "That thing is fast!"  

      "Did you get it?" Shepard cautiously raised her head.  

      “Not yet”, Liara answered with an irritated voice. “Stand up again, Shepard.”  

      Shepard hesitated, not moving from her prone position. “Are you sure you can get this thing?”  

      “I’m sure. Stand up Shepard!”  

      Shepard slowly got to her knees when she noticed the hole in the deck in front of her again.  

      “What is this stuff? How did a hole get in the deck?”  

      Wrex walked over closer to peer at the hole before responding.  

      “That’s the bird. Once we take care of it, you might want to clean that up.  It will eat right through the deck if you give it time.”  

      Shepard shook her head in disbelief as she remained in a crouching position, her eyes constantly scanning.   

      “What are you saying? That this is the bird’s...” 

      “Shit. Yes. And it’s nasty stuff. Don’t let it get on you.”  

      “Are you telling me this bird of yours shits acid?!”  

      “Or something. I don’t know the science behind it but it will chew right through metal.” He shrugged. “Lots of prey animals have chemical defenses on Tuchanka.” 

      “THAT’s a prey animal? You said it attacks krogan!” 

      “It sure isn’t a predator, not by Tuchanka standards, anyway. You’ve seen thresher maws. That’s a predator! 

      Shepard sighed as she scraped her boot furiously against the floor grating.  

      “Shepard!” Liara huffed. “If you are finished discussing avian excrement, can you stand up so I can get this thing?”  

      “Easy for you to say! This thing took a chunk out of my scalp and now I have acid shit on my boot!”  

      “I’m ready, Shepard”, Liara said confidently. “Stand up and I will capture the bird this time.”  

      “You’re sure you can do it? It flies pretty fast and you already missed.”  

      “I hadn’t even seen it before! Now I know how big it is and how fast it moves and...just stand up!”  

      Shepard stood up tall, squaring her shoulders with her jaw set. A few moments later, the bird swooped down from one of the lights heading straight for Shepard once again. Liara stayed hidden until the last second and then stood and threw the singularity. This time the blue energy caught the bird a few feet to the right and above Shepard as she hit the grating once again.  

      “Woohoo!”, Shepard shouted, leaping to her feet. “We got the little bastard!”  

      “Of course, we did.” Liara said with a small self-satisfied smirk. “Now, what’s the plan?”  

      Shepard looked at her blankly for a second and then looked at first Wrex and then Garrus. They both shrugged at her this time.  

      “Um, I guess we put it in a crate?” Shepard looked around her and then ran to a crate stored on the side of the bay. She opened it and then began throwing items out of it with both hands. She then motioned for Wrex to come help her pick it up and bring it closer to the captive. They got it in position as Edi’s voice came over the intercom.  

      “Shepard. Excuse my interruption but didn’t we establish that this animal excretes a compound that is corrosive? Will a standard crate be able to hold the animal once it is no longer immobilized?”  

      “Yeah”, Wrex interjected. “And the little guy might hurt himself trying to get free if we don’t knock him out first before putting him in a box.”   

      “And how would you suggest that I knock him out? You want me to hit him on his little chin?” Shepard’s frustration was obvious. “Do you have a suggestion, Edi? Liara can only hold the thing for so long.”  

      “Perhaps Doctor Chakwas would have a drug that could render the creature unconscious?”  

      “It’s worth a try.” Shepard ran over to the nearest console. “Doctor Chakwas, please come in.”  

      “Yes, Shepard?” Chakwas answered almost immediately.  

      “We have a medical emergency down in the shuttle bay. Please get here quickly.”  

      “And you might want to bring a tranquilizer, Doc”, Wrex added.  

      A few minutes later, a calm but focused Chakwas entered the cargo deck. She looked at all four crewmen present, who with the exception of Liara, working to maintain the singularity, were staring at her calmly. She was used to triage and combat medicine. The doctor could usually identify the severity of various injuries and formulate a plan within moments of arriving on scene but was having difficulty identifying the emergency present on the cargo deck at that time. She saw the blood on Shepard’s forehead and decided that she must be her patient.  

      “Not me. I’m fine. It’s almost stopped bleeding.” Shepard said as Chakwas quickly reached her. Shepard hooked her thumb towards the small blue orb near her shoulder. “We need your help with the bird.”  

      “The...bird?” Chakwas’ eyes followed Shepard’s thumb and she noticed the singularity for the first time. A closer inspection revealed the frightened, flapping, squawking bird inside the blue bubble. Chakwas turned her head back towards Shepard, her mouth open in a question.  

      “That’s a bird?! It’s got teeth like a shark! Why is there a bird on the Normandy? And most importantly, what do you expect me to do with it?”  

      Wrex stepped forward towards the doctor. “I got this Shepard. Yes, it’s a bird so, of course, it has teeth. It stowed away on the shuttle during the last mission to Tuchanka. And it’s a Karlak, sacred to my people, so we don’t want to kill it. We need you to put it to sleep.”  

      “And how do you suggest that I do that, Wrex?”  

      “I don’t know”, Wrex responded. “You’re the doctor.”  

      “That is correct. I am a doctor.” Chakwas smiled at Wrex but it was not a friendly one. “I specialize in providing medical care to humans but have made it my business to learn about the physiologies of asari, turians, quarians, krogan and salarians to best serve the medical needs of the Normandy’s crew. I am not a veterinarian, however. I no more know how to render that...thing unconscious than I would know how to defeat a thresher maw in hand to hand combat.”  

      Wrex scratched his chin. “Well, what would you do to put me under? Can’t you just adjust the dose to an animal that size?”  

      “Wrex, I don’t even know what it’s nervous system looks like! A single drop of the tranquilizer that I would use to put you under could kill your average human! I won’t be responsible for killing one of your sacred birds because I am completely in the dark.”  

      “Doctor. Karin”, Liara began, the strain of maintaining the singularity for so long clearly visible on her face, “I realize that this is outside of your typical duties but I am about to reach the limits of my biotic capabilities and will be forced to release this bird soon. Could you at least try?”  

      All the crew present looking at her expectantly, Chakwas scowled as she brought up her omni-tool and began scrolling through screens. After a few moments, she shut down the tool, went to her bag, carefully selected a vial and placed it in inside an injector. She then approached the shrinking singularity, stuck her hand in with the injector and then howled as the panicked bird firmly bit her thumb.  

      The twitching bird fell to the deck as the singularity collapsed and Chakwas issued an impressive series of curses. The bird lay on the ground, thrashing, as Chakwas headed back towards the elevator holding her injured hand.  

      “Wait!” Garrus yelled after the retreating doctor. “Will it survive? Can we put it in a crate now? What do we do with it now?”  

      “Throw it out an airlock!” Chakwas said over her shoulder as she got in the elevator and closed the door.  

      All four squad mates stood over the bird as it continued to thrash on the metal plating.  

      “Maybe one of us should throw it in a crate now?” Liara broke the silence.  

      “I don’t know. I feel kind of bad for it. What if it’s suffering?” Shepard pursed her lips. “Maybe we should just kill it? Put it out of its misery?”  

      “It’s a sacred Karlak, Shepard!” Wrex rumbled.  

      “Well then, you put it in the crate, Big Guy. It’s not my sacred bird.”  

      “Okay. I’m not afraid of a little bird.”  

      The bird snapped its beak and jaw at anyone who moved any closer to it. Wrex moved closer with his hand hovering over the bird, waiting for the best moment to capture it. He was just about to make his move when a voice boomed from the direction of the elevator.  

      “Stop!”  

      All eyes turned to see Bakara moving towards them.  

      “I was told that a sacred Karlak bird is on this ship?” Bakara spoke as she neared them, her eyes on the deck, her voice solemn. “In the darkest hours of my people, at a time when we nearly destroyed ourselves through our own short-sightedness and hubris, when our very survival as a people was in doubt, only a few wild birds survived the nuclear fires and the subsequent fallout. One of these birds was the mighty Karlak! It’s fighting spirit and tenacity gave my people hope when...”  

      Bakara stopped speaking as she stood over the bird. She lowered herself down to the ground beside the bird. She then glared at Wrex.  

      “Give me your knife”, she demanded to Wrex. He was tempted to question what she intended to do but thought against it when he saw the look in her eye. He obediently gave her the knife from his belt. Bakara swiftly drew the knife over her own hand. She let the blood from the wound drop into the bird’s open mouth until it quieted. Once the flow had stopped, the bird then drew nearer to Bakara until it crawled into her lap.  

      “This is not a sacred Karlak. This is a Vurtak, a common stock animal. Equivalent to Earth’s chicken.” Bakara looked up at Wrex. “Really, Wrex, how can you not know the difference between our sacred Karlak and a Vurtak?” 

      Wrex scratched his hump with the dull part of his blade when Bakara returned it to him.  

      “Huh. Well, it looked like a Karlak to me. How in the ancestors am I supposed to know what a Vurtak looks like? I only eat ‘em, I don’t raise ‘em.”  

      Garrus and Liara laughed. Shepard was not as amused.  

      “That thing almost killed me! Are you trying to tell me that it’s a domesticated animal?!” Shepard paused to listen for a moment. “Is that thing purring?”  

      “It only attacked you because the poor thing was starving.” Bakara answered. “Some krogan children even keep them as pets. Keep them fed and they are perfectly harmless. Of course, there are very few veteran Vurtak wranglers who die with both eyes.” 


End file.
